The father of Jeanne-Marie has been grieving for his daughter since 1989, his wife had died of a broken heart,  but Fourniret stood, stubbornly silent and unmoved before this old man in his wheelchair, who had summoned up his remaing strength to sit through this trial.

The Fournirets had hatched an obscene plot to trap the young girl. Using the name Jadot they spent two months  gaining her confidence - a 'chance' meeting at the station - a compliment on her good standard of education - discussion of religious topics (because Jeanne-Marie was boarding at a convent) and this naive and trusting girl soon regarded them as friends.

When they invited her to stay at their house and babysit  for them she was thrilled. According to a friend she thought it would be a chance to earn some pocket money. One of the nuns remembers a call from a woman with a mellifluous voice asking after her when she was ill. This was just a few days before her disappearance.

Her body was found in 2003, her face stuck carefully with sellotape in the form of a cross.

According to his earlier confession Fourniret admitted that she had screamed and struggled and broken a window so they had bound and gagged her and finally silenced her forever.

Her last words were:

"Dieu vous punira!"

In case you think I'm writing about nothing but this trial, the lighter side can be found on my other blog.